A 30-year educator says the current teacher shortage is unlike anything he's experienced previously, leaving his profession "probably the angriest I've seen".
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"Every single day in Albury there are students in merged classes, there are students in playgrounds, quadrangles on minimum supervision and there are some students who lack the specialist teachers in areas like maths and science," he said.
The Murray High School English teacher joined nearly 50 Albury district colleagues, many wearing red, who met at QEII Square on Wednesday morning before school and marched to the office of member for Albury Justin Clancy.
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Once there, they heard NSW Teachers Federation senior vice-president Amber Flohm say more than 64 permanent Albury vacancies had existed in October last year.
"We have a crisis upon us here," she said.
"The stakes are really high, they're high for us as a profession but more importantly they're high for our kids."
Mr Jory said Albury parents supported teachers but expected "and rightly so" their children to be taught by appropriately qualified teachers.
"At the moment it's simply not an attractive career profession," he said.
"We're calling on the public to support us and to ask Mr Clancy what is he prepared to do to address the issues?"
Mr Clancy said the pre-budget cycle was an appropriate time for the public sector to make representations to government.
"I welcome it and expect all sides to listen to each other closely and to act fairly for the benefit of the people of NSW," he said.
"It's important, periodically, to benchmark work, conditions and remuneration.
"We all want our teachers and all other public servants, to be well supported and have conditions equitable with their counterparts in public and private sectors.
"Our teachers and many others have been doing a terrific job as our community moves through the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
"It's healthy that we can have these discussions about jobs and conditions in a considerate way and I will continue to advocate for that."
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell reportedly told a Sydney schools summit this week more needed to be done to reduce red tape and unnecessary administrative work for teachers.
She said increasing time for teachers would be one of the department's "top priorities for the year, with a particular focus on transforming support services and systems to bring them into the 21st century".
Ms Flohm said teachers were frustrated by "the data collection, the compliance, the unnecessary paperwork that they are continually asked to do".
Mr Jory said the administrative requirements kept teachers out of the classroom.
"You teach because you love kids," he said.
"People join the profession because they want to help kids, we need Mr Clancy to help us to help kids."
In February NSW Teachers Federation decided to defer further industrial action for a month to give the Premier and government an opportunity to negotiate with the union.
The senior vice-president said "the full suite of actions" would then be considered if necessary.
"Certainly (the government's) actions would suggest that they do not value teachers," she said.
"Teachers in Albury today showed just how angry they are about the way in which the teacher shortage is being denied by the government."
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